Trauma Sensitive Yoga Therapy for Trauma: How It Differs from Yoga and Why It Matters

Yoga Therapy happens within a therapeutic relationship.

Yoga therapy is a trauma-sensitive, somatic approach that works with the nervous system, supporting people living with PTSD, complex trauma, chronic pain, anxiety, and stress-related conditions.

Yoga classes can be a supportive practice for wellbeing. Yoga therapy, however, is a clinically informed, personalised somatic therapy designed to support people living with PTSD, complex trauma, chronic pain, anxiety, and nervous system dysregulation.

Unlike general yoga classes, yoga therapy begins with assessment and adapts every practice to meet the person’s body, nervous system, and lived experience. It is commonly used alongside psychological and medical care as a body-based therapy for trauma recovery.

When the distinction between yoga and yoga therapy is unclear, people seeking somatic therapies for trauma can end up in environments that feel overwhelming, unsafe, or simply not designed for their needs.

Three key differences between yoga and yoga therapy

1. Yoga therapy begins with assessment

Yoga therapy includes an individual assessment that considers health history, trauma experience, current symptoms, nervous system patterns, and therapeutic goals. This assessment phase is especially important for people living with complex trauma, where safety, pacing, and choice are essential foundations for healing.

2. Practices are personalised and adaptive

Rather than following a set sequence, yoga therapy adapts movement, breath, rest, and awareness practices to the individual. The body sets the pace. This makes yoga therapy more accessible for people seeking somatic therapy for PTSD or chronic stress, particularly when group classes feel too activating or overwhelming.

3. Yoga therapy works within a therapeutic context

Yoga therapy is a trauma-aware, somatic modality designed to complement mental health and medical care. Yoga therapy is designed to complement mental health and medical care. It is trauma-aware, complementary to other therapies, and grounded in supporting nervous system regulation, interoception, and embodied self-agency — all key elements of body-based therapy for trauma.

I’m Kendra Boone, a certified Yoga Therapist and embodiment practitioner with over three decades of clinical experience. My work is rooted in the Krishnamacharya tradition, where yoga is understood as a highly individual, responsive practice shaped around the person — not the pose.

I’ve travelled to India to deepen my studies, and I’m a professional member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). I’m especially drawn to working with people living with trauma, PTSD, chronic stress, anxiety, and pain, and I care deeply about creating spaces where the body is met with respect, choice, and space to respond and adapt. My approach weaves traditional yogic wisdom with contemporary somatic and trauma-informed understanding, always led by the intelligence of the nervous system.

Choosing the right kind of support

For some people, general yoga classes are nourishing. For others — particularly those living with trauma or complex stress — a more personalised, trauma-aware somatic approach is needed.

Yoga therapy offers a way to work with the body without forcing change, supporting safety and capacity over time. It invites healing to unfold through relationship, presence, and choice — rather than performance.

One of the trauma-sensitive modalities offered within yoga therapy is Trauma Centre Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY). TCTSY may be offered privately or in a small group format and is commonly delivered as a structured eight-week course. It is a clinically informed, evidence-based approach grounded in trauma theory, attachment theory, neuroscience, and hatha yoga, and is designed specifically for people living with PTSD and complex trauma.

Rather than focusing on alignment, achievement, or catharsis, TCTSY centres safety, choice, and present-moment bodily experience. This makes it particularly appropriate for people who find traditional yoga or mindfulness practices overwhelming, activating, or inaccessible.

If you’re exploring somatic therapies for trauma and are looking for support that honours your pace and lived experience, you’re welcome to explore the embodiment programs on offer through Kendra Healing Arts. These programs are designed to gently support nervous system regulation, body awareness, and reconnection in ways that feel respectful and sustainable.

Yoga Therapy as a Trauma-Sensitive Somatic Approach

Trauma-sensitive yoga therapy is a form of somatic therapy that supports healing through the body rather than asking people to talk or think their way out of survival responses. By working with sensation, breath, movement, and choice, it offers a body-based pathway for people living with PTSD and complex trauma.

You’re invited to learn more whenever — and if — it feels right.

Begin your journey with a 3 session Self Care Start Up Package. Book in here.